


fellas, is it gay...

by laehys



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Comedy, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Minor Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le, Multi, Oblivious Huang Ren Jun, Pet Names, Polyamory, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28050912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laehys/pseuds/laehys
Summary: “I give up," Chenle says. "I giveup. This is ridiculous. I can’t understand how a person as dense as you can even exist.”“I don’t get it,” Renjun answers. “Just because we have no problem with touches or enjoy a kiss or two it doesn’t mean we’re dating.”Chenle shakes his head, peeking from between his fingers as he speaks, “Literally five minutes ago you were kissing Jeno goodbye and whispering ‘I love you’ as if you wouldn’t see him for a long time, even though we both know he’s going to end up at your place tonight. Am I wrong? Tell me I'm wrong, then."“So what? Can’t I let him know how loved he is? I’m agood friend.”or: in which everyone but Renjun knows he’s in a relationship
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 23
Kudos: 407





	fellas, is it gay...

**Author's Note:**

> i cannot be stopped!!!  
> so now get some self-indulgent 00z!!
> 
> warning: they're so fucking cheesy istg

Honestly, Renjun doesn’t know who started with the pet names thing — one day he just woke up, still groggy and confused about everything around him, and just there by his side was Jaemin, voice too high and giggly, continuously whispering _“baby, baby, baby, baby”_.

And that was normal. He was used to that by now. But, if someone asked him when it all started, he wouldn’t be able to say exactly _when_ it did.

And Jaemin’s voice was happy, maybe a little too loud for that hour in the morning, but Renjun’s gut reaction was to lean forward and chase after Jaemin’s touch, to ask what he wanted and why he was calling to him.

But it wasn’t towards _him_.

Renjun catches himself before he can say anything, the reply on the tip of his tongue, and he swallows down a _“what do you want?”_ as soon as he hears Donghyuck snickering and talking back with Jaemin in the same sickeningly sweet tone. _Oh,_ Renjun thinks. It had been almost automatic, somewhat of an instinct, to turn and search for who was calling for him.

And maybe he’s a hypocrite — just like Chenle likes to call him out whenever he sees Renjun doing something couple-related in public, even though Renjun is the first to raise his voice and complain when he sees lovey-dovey couples in public.

But it’s not _his fault._ Really.

He didn’t enjoy those kinds of things and yet… sometimes, he doesn’t even realize he's opening up his mouth and—words just flow out past his lips before he can get too embarrassed to swallow them down, the reactions he receives spurring him on even more, wanting to see all of his friends flushing and squirming with what he might say next.

So… yeah. Maybe he _is_ a hypocrite for liking to do this but hating to see random people doing that.

But what matters is Chenle not knowing the real truth about his feelings so Renjun can continue playing dumb and not lose the battle. And if someone calls him by a cheesy pet name and Renjun likes it, then that’s for him to know and for no one else to ever find out. _Ever._

He does have an image to keep up, after all.

Jaemin kisses his lids and whispers, “I know you’re awake.”

“It’s not like I was trying to hide,” Renjun murmurs back, rubbing his face with his hands before opening his eyes. He blinks quickly, trying to adapt to the sudden brightness, and is met with Jaemin’s happy face hovering over him. “Hi.”

“Morning, baby,” Jaemin coos and kisses the tip of his nose. A sudden warmth blooms inside his chest, spreading all over his ribcage, but Renjun tries to ignore it. Too early for weird feelings.

And then, right next to Jaemin’s face, Donghyuck’s head pops in the space. “It’s your turn to make breakfast. Go, I’m hungry.”

Renjun ignores him and stretches on the bed, raising his arms up before he suddenly remembers and his eyes widen, “Where’s Jeno?”

He doesn’t know how he didn’t notice it before — the bed was too big and Renjun was able to move his body without a broad build clinging to him for dear life.

Jaemin makes a noise from the back of his throat and moves, settling himself on Renjun’s lap despite the wheezing noise that Renjun lets out with the sudden weight upon him. “He already left,” Jaemin says, the tone of his voice full of sorrow and drama, as if it pained him too much just to say that. “Needed to go extra earlier today to the lab to finish something.”

“Move away from him, Nana. I’m starving and I need to eat,” Donghyuck whines from the side, nudging Jaemin’s arm.

“No!” Jaemin says. He lowers himself down, laying his entire body over Renjun's, clinging to him tightly. “Let me at least kiss my baby. He hasn’t given me any kisses yet.”

Donghyuck complains to let Renjun go so he can make some food, but Jaemin is adamant about staying in his place, rubbing his face against Renjun’s chest and whining with a high-pitched voice. But it’s when Donghyuck hugs Jaemin’s back, meeting Renjun’s gaze from over Jaemin’s shoulder, that Renjun just _knows_ that Donghyuck is up to no good. And he needs to leave. Quickly.

“Jaemin, love, let—” Renjun starts to say, but he gets cut off by Donghyuck who tackles Jaemin over, fingers digging on his sides and making Jaemin shriek with laughter, rolling around on the bed to escape Donghyuck’s attack.

With the sudden freedom, Renjun jumps out of bed and scurries away from the bedroom, leaving the other two scuffling around. He knows how easy it is to get distracted by them and end up leaving the bed just hours after. And that’s not in his plans for that day. He _actually_ wants to be somewhat productive, even though the idea of staying hours in bed just making out sounds like something very, very good.

He makes them breakfast — by that, he re-heats some leftovers — and sets the table down, hearing Jaemin and Donghyuck’s voice all the way from the bedroom, their never-ending bickering bringing a small smile to Renjun’s lips.

Sometimes it seems like Jaemin’s mission in life is to be a walking cliché, so he makes sure to backhug Renjun when he’s bringing the food to the table, almost making him trip and spill it all over the floor.

“Look at our cute hubby feeding us, Hyuckie~” Jaemin says softly, tenderness dripping from his every word, arms holding Renjun tight against his chest, mouth too close to his ear and making goosebumps spread all over Renjun’s body.

 _Hubby_. Huh. That’s a new one. But at least is an improvement from some atrocious ones that Jaemin has said before.

(Renjun still shudders whenever Jaemin tries to call them ‘sugar lips’ or ‘my sweet little pumpkin pie’.)

“Our little boyfriend is _sooo_ adorable~” Donghyuck says, waltzing close to them. Renjun glares at him and tries to silently order him not to approach. Thankfully, Donghyuck waits until Renjun sets the food down before he latches himself on his arm. “Give me a kiss,” he demands. “You haven’t kissed me yet.”

“Yeah,” Jaemin joins in, the arms around Renjun’s waist don’t letting him move, “I also need my daily kisses. Can’t you see how I’m fading away without them?”

“Oh my god, I can’t handle you both without Jeno here,” Renjun complains, without any heat in his voice, turning his face to the opposite side of where Donghyuck’s clinging to his arm. That’s nothing new, really. They act like that, in a game of push-and-pull until someone finally gives in. And that someone usually was him. And maybe Renjun was a little weak. But just a little.

“My baby, my angel, my sunsh—”

Renjun kisses him just to shut him up. At least, that’s what he tries to convince himself. He didn’t exactly _lose_. He’s very sure of that.

* * *

It’s a sunny afternoon when Renjun exits his class and finds that Jeno is waiting outside for him. As soon as Jeno catches Renjun's gaze, he smiles wide, eyes turning into crescents, and walks up to him.

"Hi, honey," Jeno says, all soft and sweet like he always is.

Renjun positively melts. On the inside. Because he needs to keep an image of calm and unbothered in front of his classmates, even though he can feel his cheeks warming up and it’s impossible not to smile back when Jeno is looking down at him like that, practically _radiating_ warmth and tenderness.

"Hi, Jen. Why are you here? Oh… Did I forget to text you? I'll be meeting with Chenle now."

“I know,” Jeno replies easily, still smiling. He extends his hand and Renjun doesn’t think twice about holding it as they start to walk out of the building, fingers intertwining. "I did saw your text. It’s your biweekly meeting, right?” At Renjun’s positive nod, he continues, “It’s just that I'll be doing some grocery shopping and it’s on the way, so I thought of maybe accompanying you for at least half the way there… if you don’t mind?"

Renjun almost scoffs in disbelief. As if he’d ever turn down an opportunity to spend time by Jeno’s side! As if!

"It's not a problem!" He says quickly. “Sounds like a great idea.”

If he wants to arrive on time and not hear Chenle’s complaints about him being late again, then Renjun needs to get focused and not almost stop at every fucking minute just to admire Jeno’s side profile. But it’s hard. Very, very hard. Jeno is very beautiful and Renjun is well aware that, in the end, he’s just a flawed human that can’t resist looking at his best friend for too long. Still, they manage to walk through the campus until they hit the main streets, talking about their day.

Jeno is talking about something he did in class that Renjun has no idea what it even means, but Jeno is so excited talking about his interests that Renjun just lets him, watching him smile wide as he rambles, his free hand moving in front of his body to emphasize something that Renjun doesn’t even try to understand that happened at the lab. It’s a complicated word that maybe means even more complicated things. He doesn’t get it _at all_.

But Jeno is so enthusiastic that Renjun finds it’s easy to just hum and let him do the talking, drowning in Jeno’s voice and whatever he’s saying, not realizing where they are until Jeno halts his steps in the middle of the sidewalk, cutting off his words with his bottom lip slightly jutted out. Renjun barely notices the dirty and greasy napkin that got stuck on his shoe for the entire walk.

 _Ah_. The coffee shop. Chenle.

“Isn’t this the place you guys normally meet up?” Jeno asks, lightly furrowing his brows.

Renjun looks a little embarrassed, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. "I got too involved in our talk and might have forgotten about Chenle," he confesses. “Didn’t realize we already got here.”

Jeno laughs a little. He leans down as he cups Renjun's chin, his touch warm and gentle, and kisses him on the forehead. Renjun kind of melts and kind of ascends to another plane of existence at the same time. Jeno's touch is so sweet, so reassuring, and Renjun could never have enough of it. He aches for it as much as he also aches for Donghyuck and Jaemin's touches.

"I'll drop by your dorm later, after I put away the groceries back at mine, okay?” Jeno says. “Is there anything you want? I can buy it for you."

"No, don't worry about that,” Renjun replies. “I think that Jaemin wants to go shopping this weekend, so we can get what we need there." Even though they technically lived in different dorms, they'd spend too much time in the same place, staying together for as long as they could.

Jeno nods. "I'll be going, then. Have fun, Jun... Text me when you get back to your dorm, okay?"

“The same for you. Don’t forget to text us this time. _Please_.” He leans a little against Jeno’s palm, almost brushing their lips together. “I love you. Be careful, okay?”

Jeno hums in acknowledgment, pecking him quickly on the lips. “Love you too,” he whispers against his mouth and—Renjun is a flawed man, so he kisses him once again just because he can. And also, as a human being, one can never have enough kisses from Jeno. Renjun’s certain that’s the law somewhere. He’s just following it.

When Renjun enters the coffee shop, he immediately finds Chenle sitting in a corner, already with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake in front of him.

"Took your sweet time, huh," Chenle says as a greeting. He gets up and hugs Renjun quickly before slouching back onto the chair.

"What? I came as soon as my class ended though."

Chenle gestures towards the big window that faces the street. "I meant with your boyfriend," he looks at Renjun inquisitively, his head slightly tilted to the side. "Fucking finally, huh, guys? Who would ever think that _you_ , out of all people, would be one day lingering in front of the door, flirting in public before saying goodbye? Hey… do you think that the Renjun from three years ago would cringe at the Renjun from now?"

"Huh—but we're not dating…?" Renjun says, feeling extremely confused.

Chenle blinks. And then scoffs. "And _that's_ what you chose to focus on... Uh-huh. I see how it is. But also— _what_? What do you mean by that? I just saw you kiss him! And—and Jaemin-hyung called you and Donghyuck-hyung his _husbands_ last time we met?!" Chenle’s voice gets higher the more he speaks, hands splayed open on the table. “I know it’s been a while since we met but—but—”

Renjun shrugs. "He likes to try different pet names. It's kinda cute, actually."

Chenle stares hard at him, unmoving. "Are you fucking serious?"

Chenle’s cup of coffee continues emitting heat. Renjun kind of doesn’t want caffeine at that time of the day, so he looks around searching for a barista, an order already on his mind.

"Yeah? Why would I lie about it? We're not dating, Chenle-ya. Just… having fun together? We're best friends."

For various continuous seconds, Chenle stares down at Renjun, mouth slightly agape before he breaks off in a laugh and rolls his eyes, one hand smacking the table. "Oh my god. I can't believe this. You’re still thinking it’s _nothing_?! Are you even aware that you're making out and fucking your so-called _best friends_?"

"Yeah. So what?"

Unfortunately, it seems like there are no waiters around. Renjun ponders if he should get up to go to the counter or just wait a little bit more.

Chenle shakes his head, an ironic smile still on his face. "I don't know how to break it off to you but… they call you their _husband_ —"

"Because I take care of them! And I cook sometimes. Jaemin said I'm ' _husband materia_ l' and—"

"—they kiss you all the time, anywhere—"

"We all kiss each other, it's not a big deal."

"—and you all keep declaring your profound love for each other all the time—"

"We're not afraid of speaking about our feelings. It's a very healthy thing to do! And of course we love each other… we're best friends!"

"—are you sure you're not in a relationship? Because from the outside it sure looks like one."

Renjun huffs and crosses his arms against his chest, his ears burning red and cheeks flushed. He feels all warm and heated. Every time, with everyone he meets, it’s always the same thing — they all think they’re together.

"I think I'd know if we were dating, right? So what if I kiss them, and sleep with them, and use pet names? Everyone uses it! It's not different for me just because I call them 'baby', 'darling' or 'love of my life'. We're friends who care about each other!"

Chenle splutters, wide-eyed, coffee dribbling from his mouth. He quickly grabs a napkin and dabs at his face, while his voice goes even higher than before and he’s almost at screeching levels, "Oh my god—you call them ‘ _love of my life’_?"

The flush on Renjun's face intensifies and he squirms a little on his seat. Suddenly, he feels _too_ warm. "It just escaped one day, okay?! And… and Hyuckie liked it, so of course I continued to use it."

" _Of course he fucking liked it,_ ” Chenle mumbles, putting down the dirty napkin on the table and rubbing his face hard with his hand. “I give up," he says. "I give _up_. This is ridiculous. I can’t understand how a person as dense as you can even exist.”

“I don’t get it. Just because we have no problem with touches or enjoy a kiss or two it doesn’t mean we’re dating.”

Chenle shakes his head, peeking from between his fingers as he speaks, “Literally five minutes ago you were kissing Jeno goodbye and whispering ‘ _I love you_ ’ as if you wouldn’t see him for a long time, even though we both know he’s going to end up at your place tonight. Am I wrong? Tell me I'm wrong, then."

“So what? Can’t I let him know how loved he is? I’m a _good friend_.”

There’s a loud thud when Chenle’s head hits the table and he groans, folding his arms over his head. “You're impossible."

* * *

Renjun doesn’t know why they’re having dinner in such a fancy place. It’s definitely not anyone’s birthday or a special day, but Jeno had announced at the beginning of the week that they were going to eat out and they just... rolled with it.

The dinner had been nothing short of amazing — and Renjun was expecting something like that by the prices he saw on the menu — and they’re all having fun, especially after a few glasses of wine. He had been lucky in grabbing the seat next to Jeno, which meant he could fully enjoy squeezing Jeno’s thigh under the table knowing that Jaemin and Donghyuck couldn’t do shit from the seat across them. Jeno had lovely thighs and Renjun was invested in not letting Jeno ever forget that.

It’s going great by the time the dessert arrives. They’ve been talking about everything they could think of, laughing loudly and almost spilling the expensive wine around. It’s these kinds of moments that Renjun enjoys the most: when they’re all together and the world doesn’t exist around them. He feels complete standing by their side, seeing them so happy and enjoying each other’s presence. He couldn’t ask for anything else—it’s them, and only them, together, that he needs.

“Are you guys going to do something over the summer break?” Jeno asks between a spoonful of overpriced ice cream.

Jaemin shakes his head, while Donghyuck says that he’ll visit his family back home but still doesn’t know when.

“And you, Junnie?”

“I’m flying back home but I haven’t booked anything yet.”

Jeno hums. He seems a little nervous and Renjun doesn’t know why. Though Jeno’s been laughing and smiling the entire night, he’s been more fidgety than normal, eyes wandering around too much.

He squeezes Jeno’s thigh once and rubs it a little. “Are you okay?” He asks, quietly.

Jaemin asks something about the piece of cake that none of them had touched it yet, but Renjun is focused on Jeno and only relax after the other nods once.

“Yeah,” Jeno says softly.

They continue eating as if nothing had happened. Jaemin talks about what they could do during the break in the little time they had together before any flights back home, saying how excited he is about their plan to go apartment hunting.

And that makes Donghyuck remember something — he springs up into action, resting his chin on the palm of his hands as he leans forward on the table, a smirk curling up his lips.

“My brother stopped being a pain in the ass and… I’ll be able to join you guys!”

Renjun is excited that Donghyuck managed to convince his family and he sees that the new information is also very well received by Jaemin and Jeno. It’s a little weird to imagine that they could be living under the same roof in a few months, that they wouldn’t need to keep moving between dorms all the time, but it’s also something not _that_ new—they had been, after all, almost living together.

Jaemin talks about some place he had found online that has a balcony and is just slightly over their budget, but he swears that in the pictures it looks pretty and that it receives a lot of natural light, while being also close enough to some bus stops for them. And with Donghyuck now in the mix, they could probably be able to afford it.

Donghyuck tries to see the pictures on Jaemin’s phone, muttering his opinion about the place, when Jeno drops the spoon and lets it clatter against the plate. He clears out his throat and starts to speak softly, his voice wavering, “Before or after we go looking for a place, do you guys wanna go to my home? I thi—I want to introduce you to my parents.”

Renjun gets a little confused about why Jeno is talking about introducing them to his parents when they had met them plenty of times before. But he sees that Jeno had been a little nervous the entire day; maybe something had happened in his classes, maybe some of his assignments hadn’t gone in the right way, so Renjun decides not to point that out.

Still, Jeno’s comment is enough to make Donghyuck choke on a mouthful of cake, making Jaemin pats his back quickly, turning to look at Jeno all wide-eyed.

“A-are you sure?” Jaemin asks in a breathy tone. He pats Donghyuck’s back until the other complains about it and how he can already stop, and Jaemin blinks, almost as if snapping back to reality. “Do you want us to go with you to your home, Jeno-ya?”

“Yes,” Jeno says.

“Huh—” Donghyuck starts, scratching the back of his neck. “Whoa. Okay. That’s…”

“It’s not a big deal,” Renjun cuts them off, frowning a little. “Though I think it would be the best idea if we could go just after signing a contract. I don’t want any more stress about all this apartment hunting thing.”

Jaemin raises his eyebrows in surprise but nods his head. Donghyuck whistles low, “Renjunnie,” he says, almost as if in awe, “you’re the only confident gay we need in our lives.”

Renjun rolls his eyes. “Shut up.” He turns to face Jeno and squeezes his thigh to grab his attention. “Is that okay with you? Going after we secure a place?”

A smile blooms on Jeno’s face, his shoulders relaxing; he looks around before he focuses on Renjun, pecking him quickly before answering, “Yeah, it’s okay. I’ll talk with my parents and we can arrange a date so it won’t clash with yours and Donghyuck’s flight.”

Across the table, Jaemin smiles wide. He looks at Renjun with his big, bright eyes and pink cheeks. Renjun tilts his head a little bit, but there’s no mistake for him when he sees Jaemin smiling like that in his direction — Renjun smiles back, all warm inside, and glad about the future plans they’re all making together.

He couldn’t imagine doing any of that with anyone else.

* * *

(They never end up going to Jeno’s house.

There are too many things to do in order to officially rent a place and, when there’s a break in their hectic schedule, Donghyuck is already with his flight booked and Renjun is packing his baggage.

And, when they start to look at the calendar, searching for holidays or breaks, Jaemin is the one who remembers that they now have a _place_ and Jeno’s parents could just come to them. Jeno, though, isn’t too keen on the idea of having his parents over and says he prefers to wait.

Renjun leaves when their new apartment is still bare besides some mattress on the floor and Donghyuck’s old bean bag leaning against the wall, but when he arrives back after a few weeks, he finds out that Jaemin and Jeno had been busy decorating it.

It’s not the prettiest or the most aesthetic place, but it’s something that starts to feel like home.)

* * *

“Are you free sometime this week, babe? More specifically on Friday night?” Donghyuck asks, sliding across the couch they managed to grab at the thrift shop for an amazing deal. He nudges Renjun’s cheek with his finger, trying to grab his attention when he doesn't get an immediate response.

Renjun pauses his reading, putting down the book on his lap. He’s been trying to finish at least one chapter the entire afternoon but has been too distracted by everything around him. Sometimes he misses how close his dorm used to be to the library and how he could just pop there wherever he wanted.

“It depends. What do you want?”

Donghyuck pouts a little but snuggles closer to him, almost on his lap now, and he encircles Renjun with his arms. “Wanna introduce y’all to my friends.”

“Do you even have any other friends besides us?”

He only receives a snort as a reply before Donghyuck elbows him on the ribs, planting a chaste kiss on his neck. “Don’t be _mean_ now, I’m being serious!”

Renjun struggles a little against Donghyuck’s hold but he relents quickly, letting Donghyuck cling to him as much as he wanted to.

“It’s some of the older guys from my internship,” Donghyuck continues to say, voice sounding a little muffled by the way he’s with his face tucked on the side of Renjun’s neck. “It’s kinda funny—some of them are friends with Jeno’s brother, can you believe it? Anyway, they’re having some kind of dinner slash party and invited me so I’m dragging you all with me.”

“But I thought Jaeminnie would be busy with his shift on Friday?”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck pouts a little, eyebrows scrunching up. “And that’s why I’m dragging you and Jen. You’re gonna like it. Apparently, it’s some kind of adult shit—they said they have wine and they talk. It’s just what you like.”

Renjun can’t refute so he just shrugs. “I guess. But can _you_ handle something like that? No booze or going crazy on the dance floor?”

Donghyuck slightly pinches him on the side and Renjun yelps, body trying to get away from his fingers, but Donghyuck holds him tight against him and Renjun can't move away. It’s not like he would want to _really_ go away anyway, not with the warmth shared between them, and the comfortable position he finds himself in between Donghyuck's arms.

“I’ll survive if you both are there,” Donghyuck says easily, and then his voice gets a little lower, a little more vulnerable, and Renjun knows it’s not a time for playful remarks. “I guess I’m actually kinda excited you’ll be meeting them? It’s like both of my worlds are going to finally meet. They’re nice to me, and you, and Jaeminnie, and Jeno are too important. You know that. So I want this to go well.”

It’s a lot more serious than what Renjun had expected that would come out of Donghyuck's mouth, but he understands the feeling, can relate to it.

Though the others might have known Chenle from before, it was only after they had started their thing, when their lives got more intertwined, that they had _really_ started to see more of his friend — and Renjun was ecstatic at how well they all seemed to get with each other. He had heard the stories about friends from different groups not getting along, so he was glad it wasn’t their case, and he could tell how important these guys from Donghyuck’s internship seemed to be for him — and if it was something important for Donghyuck, then it was also for him. For all of them.

* * *

Though Renjun doesn’t consider himself a grumpy old man whose entire humor depends on how predictable his routine is, he certainly would appreciate knowing beforehand if Chenle decides to change things on their biweekly coffee meeting.

Sure, some changes were a good thing: going to another place, trying a new dessert, surprising him with some gift from his new overseas trip, but appearing with his boyfriend so Renjun could mope the entire day at how he ended up as a third wheel was certainly _not_ one of them.

“You could have told me about it,” Renjun complains for the third time, looking sullen as he maybe adds too much sugar to his drink. He deserves the extra sweetness. Reminds him a little of Jaemin and just that already lifts his mood a tiny bit. “So I could just make up some excuse and not show up. Or maybe I could have dragged Jeno—he likes this place. It could be, like, a fake double date.”

From across the table, Jisung blinks and lifts his glass, shuddering with the thought.

“ _God, no._ ” Chenle scowls with the idea of a _double date_ , expressing his entire distaste with his expressions and emphasizing the words. “But be more dramatic. _Please_.” His entire torn is sarcastic and it makes Renjun rolls his eyes. “It’s not like you haven’t been dramatic enough for the past ten minutes.”

“Well, it’s not like I enjoy third-wheeling, you know. If you wanted to have a date you could just have told me and we’d reschedule or something. It’s not like I have anything against you, Jisung,” Renjun adds quickly, glancing at the other boy. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

Jisung shrugs, unimpressed, and continues drinking his smoothie. Renjun doesn’t know him enough to have an opinion about him — he has only seen him a couple of times with Chenle, and barely interacted on a dinner they had together, too busy at the time with Jaemin’s wandering hands to worry about making a good impression or really strike a conversation.

Chenle waves a hand, unbothered by his comment. “I didn’t say anything because it’s not a problem. He’s too shy to even hold my hand in public,” he points to Jisung at his side who colors red and lifts his glass once again, hiding behind it. “You’re not going to _third-wheel_ ,” he drawls the words, “and you can’t reschedule _shit_. You’re too busy all the time. It’s been, like, almost a month since we last saw each other.”

Renjun sighs. “There are too many things to do and too little time. We don’t even eat together anymore back at home; our schedule is too crazy for us to sit down for a while. Hyuck’s been bugging us like crazy to go to another dinner at his friends’ but it’s impossible for us to find a time.”

“He has other friends besides you guys?!”

“I know! I also said that! But yeah, he met them at his internship—you know that pretentious as shit office looking thing that had the weird chairs I showed you? Yeah, it’s there. But anyway, some of the guys are also friends with Jeno’s brother from college days? So they all kind of know each other?” Renjun pauses for a second, a little lost in thought. “It’s a little weird putting it like that. But, yeah… they all know each other.”

“It sounds creepy, kinda like a cult,” Jisung supplies from the side.

Renjun blinks but then nods his head once, deep in thought. “Yeah. I should keep an eye on that, I guess. That’s how cults start right? You recruit people next to you and, when you realize it, it’s already too late?”

Jisung nods vehemently.

“I guess,” Chenle says, rolling his eyes, and ending that topic. “Anyway. You’ve been having dinner with Hyuck-hyung’s friends from _work_? Damn. You’re all really serious, huh.”

“It was a little awkward at first because there’s a lot of couples there,” Renjun answers, shrugging, “but they’re all nice so we try to meet at least once a month. And they’re not _that_ serious. Sure, they’re older but really, they act just like us.”

Jisung shares a look with Chenle, but the latter only shakes his head and continues, “Oh, so it’s like a couples-only thing?”

“Not really. There are a couple of guys who are single and then us.”

Jisung chokes and coughs loudly, staring wide-eyed at Renjun as he puts down his smoothie. “You guys broke up? Damn...”

“What?” Renjun exclaims. He looks confused and leans forward over the table. “With whom? I wasn’t dating anyone.”

Chenle pats the back of Jisung’s head and looks at Renjun with a shit-eating grin on his face. “See? Everyone thinks you guys are dating.”

Renjun crosses his arms against his chest and sags down against his seat, suddenly feeling exhausted, his mind full of dangerous thoughts. “Don’t start this again, Chenle. I’m not in the mood for this joke.”

But Jisung only blinks, extremely confused. “But wait... Did you guys break up or not? I thought that Jaemin-hyung had talked about you guys moving together a few months ago?”

Renjun sighs deeply, trying not to snap at Jisung; he knows that the boy isn’t as updated as his boyfriend was on the matter. They hadn’t even talked for that long before. “Yes, we’re living together, but we’ve never dated...”

“But—but… Jaemin-hyung called you _his husband_ … _Yesterday_ ,” Jisung says quickly, as if divulging something that Renjun isn’t aware of. He looks like a lost puppy and Renjun can’t bring himself to get mad at someone who looks so confused, his eyebrows scrunched up and lips almost in a pout. ”I was walking around the campus yesterday and I met Jaemin-hyung and Jeno-hyung and we talked a little, but Jaemin-hyung _really_ called you that. I know I heard it.”

“He likes to use pet names,” Renjun says easily, shrugging off the matter. “It’s not a big deal.”

Jisung makes a noise from the back of his throat and turns his entire body to the side, looking confused and lost towards Chenle, but the other boy only shakes his head and pats Jisung’s thigh. “There, there. It’s okay. It’s frustrating as shit, I know. But it doesn’t matter what you say—he’s dense as shit,” he replies, indicating at Renjun with his head.

Renjun rolls his eyes.

“Are… are you seeing other people, Renjun-hyung?” Jisung asks softly, looking almost as if he's scared of what he’s asking.

“What? Of course not!” Renjun scoffs, shaking his head. “We agreed on something exclusive a long time ago. And it’s not like I have the time to meet new people—they keep me enough busy as it is. Like, lately, I think the only other people I made friends with were Hyuck’s friends.”

“ _The couples’ dinner_ ,” Chenle adds from the side.

“Yes, from _there_ ,” Renjun says, throwing a look at Chenle. “And I have no interest at the moment. Everything’s well. We’re well and we’re not together—I mean, we’re _kind of_ but not together-together—I mean, we have— _Ugh_ —”

He stops his rambling abruptly; a heavy weight settles on the bottom of his stomach, making him feel like he’s doing more bad than good. He rakes a hand through his hair and forces a fake smile, ignoring Jisung’s wide-eyed stare and Chenle’s dead-pan gaze.

“By the way, did you guys know we’re thinking about adopting a cat next break?” Renjun asks, pretending that everything is fine. Very cool. Nothing wrong whatsoever. “It’s still a while in the future, but we’re already deciding on the name. Here, let me show you my ideas. Please, text the groupchat how the ones I decided are the best, okay?”

Renjun leans down to take his phone out of his bag that is laying on the floor. Chenle looks at Jisung and pats his thigh in a comforting manner. “ _Don’t worry about it_ ,” he whispers. “ _One day he’ll get it._ ”

* * *

Time flies and when Renjun realizes Halloween is already approaching quickly.

“Should we do couples costumes?” Jaemin asks one day, turning around on the bed and making Jeno grumble with the sudden movement.

Donghyuck grimaces, but he quickly moves to unlock his phone and search for any ideas, all the while complaining about how cliché all of that was. Jaemin, though, only tries to squeeze his face close to Donghyuck’s so he could catch a glimpse of the phone screen.

“But isn’t it too obvious?” Renjun asks from the floor, barely seeing them from where he is. He’s been trying to put a painting inside the frame for the last few minutes, but he lost one of the screws and can’t find it around him. “Like, everyone will expect something like that.”

“Yeah, but because we have the opportunity we gotta use it,” Donghyuck proclaims, thumb swiping through the open tabs. “Here. Hey, Jen, would you mind in going as a ‘ _sexy jar of salsa’_?”

“ _Huh?!_ ” Jeno exclaims, trying to see over Jaemin’s shoulder the phone screen. Jaemin grunts with the weight of Jeno’s body against his back. “Is that even a real thing?”

“Yeah, it’s a dress though,” Donghyuck says, “but you’d rock it.”

“Of course he would,” Jaemin says, trying to grab Donghyuck’s phone. Donghyuck whines loudly, shifting around in bed to escape from Jaemin’s grabby hands.

“I think it’d look good with your new shoes, Jen,” Renjun snickers from the floor. “Hey, can someone find the last screw for me? I think I might have gotten a defective frame.”

“Here, Renjun-ah, one for you: ’ _sexy Ronald McDonald’_ ,” Donghyuck reads from his phone and then he lifts his gaze to meet Renjun’s eyes, smirking down at him, “since you’re a clown all the time.” He throws something at the floor and when Renjun gets a look at it, the shiny silver screw mocks him from its place almost underneath the bed.

 _He was practically begging for it_ , Renjun reasons later in his head, limping towards the kitchen after he fell down from the bed with a well-placed shove from Donghyuck that ended their scuffling for good. Jeno and Jaemin, the _heathens_ , had only watched amused as they rolled around and tried to pin the other down.

In the end, they were too late and all the good costumes were already gone from the stores. Only Jeno and Donghyuck managed to improvise some kind of couple costumes, something with too many Hawaiian prints mixed together and paired with the ugliest neon shorts Renjun had ever seen. Jaemin had no costume but, in Renjun’s opinion, he still outshone everyone with a pair of Jeno’s clubbing shirt and glitter on his face, eyes lined with dark eyeshadow. But maybe Renjun was a little biased. Just a little bit, though.

December arrives and they spend their first Christmas together at their apartment. Though Renjun knows his family back at home isn’t that happy with the arrangement, he can’t bear to spoil Jaemin’s excitement of hosting their first Christmas dinner with everyone together.

There are only two of Donghyuck’s older friends (and Jeno’s brother) attending, but they still freak out the entire day trying to make everything perfect. In the end, the food did not burn and the fairy lights that Jeno stuck on the ceiling only falls down after everyone leaves, the night ending with everyone being pleasantly buzzed. And it's good.

The next morning, Jeno presents them with some friendship rings that make Donghyuck teary-eyed and Jaemin sniffling against Renjun’s back.

Renjun sometimes used his ring on his finger. He liked it when he was holding some of the boy’s hands and it shone under the light, reflecting the engraving of their names on the side of the band. But he was too afraid of losing or ended up ruining it, so he mostly used it with a chain around his neck.

It was something that was always with him, and whenever he fiddled with the cord or fidgeted with the band around his finger, it reminded him of them and it would bring him comfort; a reminder that, whatever was making him nervous, whatever was making him fret over, it would pass and soon he’d go home and reunite with his friends.

 _Home_. It used to be the place he grew up in, where his family resided. Somewhere in between it changed to that little apartment with the broken balcony door; where it didn’t matter what had happened before because Renjun knew that, at the moment he walked in through the door, he’d be received with open arms and love by the three boys he cherished the most.

* * *

“ _Where is my cute boyfriend_?!” Renjun can hear Jaemin’s voice coming from the hallway and, a few seconds later, Donghyuck’s giggles coming from the kitchen, where there’s the sound of something metallic falling on the floor before Jaemin sheepishly exclaims, _“Sorry~”_

“ _Don’t break anything, please_!” Jeno shouts from inside the bathroom.

Renjun sighs, fondness borrowing itself a place inside his chest. It’s always like this, never a dull moment inside their home. And he likes it—likes how they can have their quiet moments and know when to respect each other’s space, but that you just need a sideway glance to know that chaos could erupt in a second. It’s something familiar, soothing.

Maybe he’s a little biased because they’ve been best friends for years and they _do_ know each other very well, but Renjun doesn’t see himself having such great harmony and deep bond with anyone else but them. They are so well integrated that words sometimes aren’t needed; it’s just a look and you already know what happened, what one needs.

And sometimes he fears that he might enjoy their little arrangement _too much_. And he knows it’s dangerous to get too used to that, to rely too much on their relationship when, in the next day, someone could want to break it all off so they could get into a real relationship.

And it would be awful to end up heartbroken because of something not even real.

“ _Baby_ ,” Jaemin whines from the kitchen, the noise of another thing falling on the floor. Renjun’s too used to that happening to even care anymore — whenever Jaemin and Donghyuck were together, chaos was sure to follow. “ _Don’t tease me like that._ ”

“ _Ok, ok_ ,” Donghyuck’s voice is light and he breaks out in a giggle, “ _What do you want_?”

Renjun can hear the water running from inside the bathroom.

“ _What do_ you _want to do for Valentine’s? I don’t have anything planned and I can’t think of any good ideas… And since you’re going away, it’d be best to do something before than after. What do you think?_ ”

“ _You don’t need to keep surprising us every time, Nana. We can just have a quiet day… I know you’re busy with work, so everyone will understand_ ,” Donghyuck laughs a little. “ _You keep doing things and then trying to outdo yourself even more, but there’s no problem in not doing something big once._ ”

Renjun can hear Jaemin sighing deeply and he almost stands up to go after him before Jaemin continues, “ _I just like to do things for everyone… and surprises for you all… But I’ll think of something by myself then, since you aren’t helping me,_ ” Jaemin says in a teasing tone. Renjun knows how this will play out: Jaemin will keep teasing Donghyuck until he snaps and they’ll start making out with no worries about their surroundings.

And it’s no different this time. Soon enough there’s a grunt echoing and something once again falls.

“Not in the kitchen!” Renjun shouts from where he’s sitting. If they start fucking there, Renjun will be too tempted to not wander close and he’ll probably never finish his reading.

He can only hear some hushed giggles before Jeno screams from inside the bathroom, “ _No fucking in the kitchen! I cleaned the counter yesterday!”_

Donghyuck laughs out loud, but Renjun hears them walking through the hallway and the closing of the bedroom door.

He thinks about Jaemin’s words, fiddling with the ring around his finger. It’s true that Jaemin’s always been invested in celebrating special moments and sometimes what seems like random days.

He wonders if he should try it once, just to surprise them. Do something different. Though Valentine’s day _does_ have a different kind of weight, but… they already crossed the line between a normal friendship and what they have a long time ago, right? Then what’s the deal with them celebrating Valentine’s together? It’s not like it’d even be the first time. Chenle _was_ right in that aspect—friends or fuckbuddies don’t normally call each other “ _love of my life_ ” or “ _boyfriend_ ” and celebrate Valentine’s day like it has some significance...

 _Oh, well,_ Renjun thinks. They never really followed whatever norm existed, anyway.

* * *

Donghyuck kicks the door open and promptly plops down onto the couch, getting himself comfortable as he pulls off his phone from the pocket, nudging with his knee the laptop that’s perched on Renjun’s lap.

"Aren't you gonna close the door?" Renjun asks. He doesn’t lift his eyes from the bright screen nor he stops typing.

“Jeno is coming, he can close it,” Donghyuck says and nudges the laptop again. “Now move this, I need to get _comfortable._ I’m _tired_.”

Renjun sighs deeply, but he lifts the laptop and places it down over Donghyuck’s legs after he stretches and lays back down on the couch. He’s been working on that project for days and nothing could make him stop.

Jeno doesn’t take long to arrive, closing the door behind him as he kicks his shoes off.

“Hi, baby,” Jeno says brightly. He walks inside and drops their reusable shopping bag on the counter.

Renjun grunts as a reply and types a little louder than normal to make sure that Jeno catches the memo that he’s _working_.

“Don’t be mean to him,” Donghyuck says from the side, legs moving under the laptop, and Renjun scrambles to not let it fall towards the floor. “He bought that ugly fruit that you like and it wasn’t even on sale.”

“I’m not being _mean_ to him,” Renjun retorts, but he turns his gaze away from the laptop screen to face Jeno, smiling softly when he sees him putting away the groceries. “Hi, love. How are you?”

Donghyuck makes a retching sound from the side, cutting off any of Jeno’s reply. Renjun slaps Donghyuck's thigh lightly in a warning. “You don’t need to sound so jealous, Hyuck.”

There’s a dangerous glint in Renjun’s eyes, but Donghyuck shrugs as nonchalantly as he can manage. “I’m not jealous,” he says in a jealous tone.

“Yeah?” Renjun says teasingly. He lifts his eyes from the screen, fully facing Donghyuck. “Doesn’t seem so. In fact, I believe that your praise kink says a lot about that, especially when you _thrive_ on pet names and I don’t even need to—”

“ _Hey!_ ” Donghyuck complains, interrupting him. His feet try to kick Renjun but he doesn’t manage to hit him, only making the laptop wobble once again. “We all compromised on not using anyone's kink to win an argument! And you agreed to it!”

“You were _literally_ mocking Jaemin about that tentacle dildo! Yesterday!”

Donghyuck pauses. “That's different. I was another person back then. And he knows better than to watch shitty anime on my phone! My history is eternally fucked now!” He huffs in annoyance and lifts his phone, blocking his view of Renjun's face.

Renjun returns to his project satisfied, rejoicing in his victory, and types out one entire paragraph without wiping away the smile from his face.

“Sorry for interrupting this foreplay but I need you for a sec,” Jeno says, walking closer to Renjun. Sometimes as the only functional human being when more than two of them were together, Jeno had already finished putting away the groceries and tidying up the place. He leans forward and kisses Renjun quickly on the forehead. “Jaem was talking earlier about a new café that opened close to that bookstore you like. There's a discount going on because of Valentine's day and he wants to go there. Are you free today?”

"Ah, yeah. I forgot to ask you that," Donghyuck says sheepishly.

Renjun pauses his typing for a moment. His instinct is to say no and keep working on his project, but he also knows that he's been neglecting his friends for the last few days. "Hmm… It really depends on this project, love. If I manage to hit the word limit for today then I’m free, but for now… Still have a long way to go.”

Jeno nods and ruffles Renjun's hair. Renjun wants to complain about the gesture, but he holds off.

“How many words more?” Donghyuck asks. He lowers his phone to be able to see them.

“Around two thousand,” Renjun says sadly.

“Oof.”

 _Oof_ was an understatement. So Renjun powers through, momentarily glad that he had taken so many online typing speed tests when he was younger and bored out of his mind. Surely that was what was helping him go quicker and not the thought of seeing his friends happy and together. He wasn't that soft.

Donghyuck soon gets bored when Renjun finds his new driven force and starts to ignore his remarks. He leaves him alone on the couch and drags Jeno to the bedroom.

" _Gaming time,_ " Donghyuck says, winking and with his hand around Jeno's bicep. For all that Renjun knows they could be well enough going to do that. Or making out. Sometimes even both at the same time.

Renjun tries not to think about that—he still has over a thousand words to go.

When Jaemin arrives, it's by stumbling through the door as he tries to take off his shoes and coat at the same time as he holds a bag, waving it in the air. "Look at what I got!" He says excitedly.

"Hmm…" Renjun replies entirely focused on what he's writing until his brain understands what he heard. He looks up and sees Jaemin walking in his direction, bag swaying in his grip. "What's that?"

"My new phone! Finally!"

"That's great, love. Oh, by the way, Jeno told me you want to go to a café today?"

Jaemin grins. "Yeah! It's 50% off for couples and I thought about maybe going tomorrow since it's Friday, but Hyuck said he needs to go back home as soon as his classes end and that he won't be back until Monday. So if we want to enjoy this whole discount thing we need to go today."

Jaemin sits next to Renjun on the couch and pecks him softly on the lips before he starts his unboxing of the new phone.

"Ah… I don't remember Hyuck mentioning that. But if that's the case then we can go today—I'll write this later."

"Are you sure?" Jaemin pauses, hands laying flat on top of the box of the new phone. He cocks his head to the side, eyes focused on Renjun. "We know you have been working very hard on your project and the deadline is close. We totally understand if you can't go, I just wanted to—"

"No, Jaem. It's okay. I can afford to spend some hours not looking at this. Actually, it might even be good to stop for a while. And, like you said, Valentine's is just around the corner and if we don't go now we'll never enjoy it because I refuse to step a foot inside when the café is filled with too many people."

Jaemin smiles and Renjun is unable not to return the gesture. There's something about Jaemin that always makes him want to comply and accept anything he says just to see him happy.

"I'll just finish this one paragraph and then I'll change. Jen and Hyuck are in the bedroom if you want to go bother them."

Renjun receives a positive noise from Jaemin, but Jaemin stays by his side for a while, finishing setting up his new phone. It's only after making sure that the device is running smoothly that he gets up.

Right after Jaemin turns the corner, Renjun hears the loud laughter coming from the bedroom, followed by a squealing noise. Someone tries to shush them and Renjun barely hears a " _Don't distract him!"_ before it's drowned out by more laughs. It's ridiculously endearing and Renjun finds himself unable to focus on his work when his heart warms at the sound of their happiness. He quickly closes the laptop, pushing it to the side of the couch, and scrambles to join them.

* * *

It’s late at night when Renjun finally finishes revising his day’s work. Everyone else is already asleep and the apartment is bathed in silence — a rare occurrence when they’re all together under the same roof.

He enters the bedroom as quietly as he can manage, thankful for the one who had had the thought of letting a bedside lamp on so he could walk around without stumbling and waking up everyone. _Again_.

To his luck, they’re all cuddling together in the same bed, leaving the other bed empty. He’s too tired to deal with someone clinging to him when all he wants is some quiet time. It had been a long day, and though he can feel the exhaustion clinging to his very bones, Renjun finds himself not being able to fall asleep.

He turns around, laying on his side and facing the other bed. It’s dark with the light off and he can barely make out their forms but can clearly hear their breathing. It’s enough to bring him a sense of contentment, relief. They’re there and they’re okay. It’s all he can ask for.

He thinks about how his day had turned out. Their impromptu outing. Though it had pushed back his schedule a little, it had been worthwhile to spend time together after a while. And he _knew_ how excited Jaemin was for them to go out together.

The coffee shop ended up being more packed than Renjun imagined it'd be, but they managed to grab the couple's discount while utterly confusing the waitress. To most people, it looked like they were on a double date. Halfway through the date — if it could even be called like that when all they had done was bicker and not so subtly kick each other’s shin — Jeno exchanged seats with Donghyuck. And, when the waitress arrived with a piece of cake, she stared a little at their new arrangement but left quickly to attend to the other clients.

The thing is: they weren’t a couple and they weren’t on a date.

No matter what Chenle insisted on saying, Renjun is pretty sure no one had ever asked him about dating. He thinks he’d remember if something that big had happened.

Yeah, they might have an agreement about exclusivity and not sleep around with other people, choosing to spend their free time with each other, and are even living together. They kiss and fuck a lot, and Renjun always sought them whenever he had a problem or wanted some kind of comfort. They shared confessions and platonic love declarations while holding their hands tightly and staring deep into each other’s eyes. And they even have matching rings because couple items are trendy. But that’s because they’re such a close group of friends who doesn’t shy away from their feelings. Renjun _knows_ them deeply, and if no one said they’re dating—then they aren’t.

Sure, sometimes they’d joke about where to go next on their “weekly date” or needing some “couple time”, but that’s just the way they were. Jaemin was always playful and liked to call them his “ _boyfriends”_ or _“husbands”_ , but that’s just how he was too. Renjun didn’t need to dig deeper and try to find some bigger motive for that other than Jaemin liking pet names and being cute.

Sometimes you just say things, like, maybe uttering “ _I love you_ ” too many times during sex while you’re definitely having the most amazing orgasm of your life or jokingly calling Donghyuck “ _love of my life_ ” because he’s going to get flustered and that’s a great look on him. That’s just how it is sometimes. There’s no need to overthink.

They all work well together and are very comfortable in the situation they’re in. Yeah, maybe Jeno spoiled them a _little_ too much and he always had that puppy-like look that begged to be kissed senseless — and Renjun was just a weak man when faced with that. It _really_ wasn’t his fault; one couldn’t resist Lee Jeno. It was impossible. And Jeno made sure that all of them wouldn’t forget that.

Renjun is satisfied with their arrangement. They’re his best friends and he couldn’t ask for better people by his side. If he’d ever end up in a relationship it’d have big grounds to cover, for what he had was too good to give up for some random person who could end up not being even that great after. Why risk it all when he’s already satisfied with what he has? Honestly, if they stayed like that forever it would—

Renjun jumps up from the bed, sitting up. His heart pounds against his chest, his stomach in knots. Oh, _fuck_. Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

It feels like he had been blind his entire life but now he could see the light for the first time. _What the fuck,_ he thinks. He tries to wipe his sweaty hands on the sheets but it isn’t enough.

Does he _love_ them? Not on a platonic level — but as something different. Oh, fuck. Does he _like_ them like that?

 _Shit_.

Are they _dating_?

_Why nobody thought of telling him that they’re dating?_

Shit. Was Chenle _right_?

What the fuck.

He can’t sleep without an answer. It’s impossible to calm his heart down enough for him to relax. He needs to know and he needs to know _now._

Renjun can’t believe that the first relationship he might be in he didn’t even _know_ about it for… how long? When did they decide they’re dating? He tries to rake his brain and _think_ , but Jaemin’s always been lovely and calling them names, Donghyuck’s a fucking menace who makes him feel _things_ since forever, and Jeno’s a baby who deserves the entire world.

Shit—do _they_ also know they’re dating or was he just imagining things? Does dating someone needs to be said out loud at least once or it can be implied?

The movies really didn’t prepare him for a moment like this.

 _Fucking hell_.

He walks to the other bed and nudges the closest body until the person grumbles annoyed.

“ _What the fuck, Renjun?_ ”

Of course it would be Donghyuck.

“What do you want?” He manages to force the words out through a series of yawns and whining noises.

Renjun contemplates for two entire seconds turning away and getting back into bed, letting Donghyuck think he dreamed all of that; but his mind is a mess and he just _can’t_ ignore the realization he just had.

“Are we dating?” Renjun blurts out, immediately regretting every decision in his life that brought him to that moment.

Donghyuck blinks. Or so Renjun thinks, he can’t really see him, but he hears the sound of sheets rustling. “Yeah? So—what do you want? Are you really gonna use the boyfriend card now? It’s like… I don’t even know what time it is. Are you in any kind of trouble that it can’t wait until _later_?”

“Wait— _what?_ We—uhh— _what_ —”

“What do you mean? Renjun, did—” Donghyuck huffs in annoyance and stops talking. Suddenly the bedside lamp is on again and Renjun blinks quickly, trying to get used to the brightness.

Donghyuck’s hair is a mess and he looks towards Renjun with a confused face, eyes scrunched up together in his sleepy state.

“Is something going on?” Donghyuck asks, tilting his head to the side. Next to him on the bed, Jaemin is clinging to Jeno’s back, both sleeping soundly.

Renjun swallows dryly. A part of him wants to avoid Donghyuck’s gaze and crawl back under the sheets, but the need to know is bigger and he forces himself to not break their eye-contact, needing to read Donghyuck’s movements to be _sure._

“Are we dating? Like—all of us,” he vaguely gestures with his hands towards the bed.

Donghyuck scrunches up his face as if confused. “Why wouldn’t we be now? Haven’t we been dating for months?”

That’s it. That’s how Renjun’s going to depart from this plane of existence—by simply looking at his supposed _boyfriend_ of _months_ and vanishing right where he stands. Maybe spontaneous human combustion _is_ real and Renjun’s going to be the first documented case of it.

He makes a noise from the back of his throat—half dying, half exhilarating.

“Renjun…?” Donghyuck is still looking like he’s a little confused, but he seems more awake now and there’s a glint in his eyes that wasn’t there before. He’s always been too good at reading any of them, and Renjun has no doubt that Donghyuck will catch up quickly on what he’s trying to convey.

“Why didn't anybody _tell_ me? _I didn’t know,_ ” Renjun all but whines, shame forgotten in the face of the new wave of euphoria that invades his senses. _Holy shit. He’s dating. Dating!_ _His friends!_

There’s a delay of five seconds while Renjun can almost _see_ Donghyuck processing the information before he laughs out loud, head thrown back and hands holding tight his stomach as he gasps for air.

Renjun sulks a bit but he quickly gets over it. There are too many things happening inside his body, too many emotions at once; it’s mostly a mixture of feeling excited, jittery, and tingly all over. He wonders if being in love feels like that. He wonders how he never realized it before.

Donghyuck laughs and laughs, stray tears running down his cheeks as he wheezes. He’s so loud that it’s impossible for Jaemin and Jeno not to wake up with all the noise. Renjun does try to calm Donghyuck down, but he also knows a lost battle when he sees one, so he gives up quickly and just sits on the edge of the bed, waiting until Donghyuck stops.

“W-what…?” Jaemin tries to say but gets cut off by his own yawn. Donghyuck tries to answer, but he starts to giggle again and can’t continue.

Jeno sits up and drags a hand through his hair, his eyes almost closed as he leans on Jaemin’s shoulder to support himself upright. “Are you going to sleep now, Junnie?” he asks, voice drawling around the words.

Sweet, sweet Jeno. Always so worried about everyone’s well being. Renjun feels an intense need of climbing on the bed and smothering him with kisses until they’re spent.

“N-no, he—he—” Donghyuck tries to talk again, but breaks off into another fit of giggles and Renjun can’t hold himself back anymore. He clambers onto the bed and shoves Donghyuck on the mattress, making him start laughing again.

Though Jaemin looks slightly confused about why they’re making a fuss in the middle of the night, there’s a soft smile on his face as he looks at them. Renjun positively melts at the sight of Jaemin admiring them when he’s not even sure about what’s happening. Well. Maybe Renjun _is_ a little soft, after all.

Renjun shoves Donghyuck to the side and moves, sitting over his legs in the middle of the bed.

It’s strange, but he isn’t feeling nervous anymore. His heart still races and his hands are still sweaty, but he feels contempt and even — dare he says it — excited. Shit. It’s happening. Oh, god.

In a way, it’s his first confession. Maybe they all had gone through it — the giddiness of something new, of being unable to hold the words down when all he wants is to shower them with his thoughts and be by their sides. But Renjun had missed the first mark and _now_ it’s his time.

“I had a realization tonight, before going to sleep,” he says.

Donghyuck tries to suppress his laughter when he sees that Renjun is going to talk, but his body still shakes with the strain to do so. Jaemin runs a hand through Donghyuck’s hair to help him settle down and Jeno gets comfortable on Jaemin’s shoulder. Renjun thinks that, maybe, he should have just _seen them_ and realized. Wonders if, maybe, Chenle was right and he’s a bit dense.

“I didn’t know we were dating. I thought we were just a close group of friends… a _very_ close group of friends who weren’t afraid of being touchy and to tell each other ' _I love you_ ' while you're being fucked.”

There’s a beat of silence and then—Jeno roars with laughter, shaking so much he slips away from Jaemin’s shoulders, falling back onto the bed and covering his face with his hands.

Jaemin frowns a little, his expression showing his confusion, but his lips are half-way curled into a gentle smile. “But I… call you my boyfriend… all the time?”

“You even call us your _husband_ , Jaem,” Jeno supplies, body still vibrating with the force of his laugh.

Renjun shrugs. “Well… I thought it was just a pet name? Yeah, maybe an unusual one if you aren’t dating, but… Y’know… Just a cute thing?"

"I can't believe we've been dating and you didn't even know about that," Donghyuck says through his giggles.

"I… Huh, look we—we never officially spoke about this, so how was I supposed to know?!" Renjun complains, trying to defend himself.

"But we did?" Jeno says. He's still laying down but has stopped laughing. There's a big grin spread across his face and he looks too relaxed for someone who was woken up in the middle of the night. "We talked about being exclusive and the boundaries between each other. Hyuck introduced us to his friends. Baby, we went to that restaurant Jaemin ended up hating to celebrate our six month anniversary. We have _rings._ "

"Oh. I just thought it was a fancy dinner… to change things a bit… and friendship bracelets exist, so I thought that the rings were just something kinda like that?"

Renjun suddenly feels awful. How bad of a boyfriend has he been these last few months? He didn't even _know_ they're celebrating something so special and must have neglected them so much, but still—still they're with him.

"I'm sorry," Renjun says, looking down at the sheets. "I must have been a very shitty boyfriend who must have looked like he didn't care about a single thing these past few months."

"What? It’s not your fault in any way. But… If it helps to calm you down, I just thought you were trying to keep that front of always being unbothered," Jeno says.

It helps a little, but Renjun still feels like shit. He wonders how it must feel to date someone just to find out, months later, that the person wasn't even aware of that. Are they second-guessing their decision? Wondering if Renjun, now that he's aware of where they stand, even wants to be in a relationship with them?

Jaemin suddenly moves, copying Renjun's position and kneeling in front of him. He cups Renjun's face with a soft touch. "You were not a shitty boyfriend. You _are not_. It's not your fault that you end up interpreting things like this—but in a way you're right, we never asked directly if we'd be each other's boyfriends. It was something more on the side of implied? And then we just went with it."

Donghyuck has been silent for a while, but then he looks at Renjun with a pensive face before he blurts out, grabbing everyone's attention, "Okay then. That's it," he claps his hands once and rearranges his position, sitting up. "Jaemin and Jeno, this is kind of sudden but we're breaking up now. It's been fun. Okay. Hey, guys—I'm free. Do you three want to date?"

Renjun’s head snaps up. _Oh my god, Lee Donghyuck_. He sends an exasperated look at him, but Donghyuck only grins wide.

" _Hyuck,_ " Jeno manages to wheeze out, choking around his words.

Renjun can see a frown appear quickly on Jaemin's face before it disappears, a small smile appearing. His thumb caresses Renjun’s cheek in a soothing motion while he whispers, his eyes wide and overflowing with emotion, "Yes. I want to date you all."

Renjun has no time to prepare himself before Jaemin is leaning towards him, lips crashing together in a bruising kiss. He sighs against Jaemin’s mouth, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest.

“Hey!” Donghyuck exclaims. “I was the one to ask—it’s me who deserves all the kisses right now!”

Jaemin breaks the kiss to laugh and Renjun doesn’t hold back too.

Jeno is still laying down, slightly propped up by the pillows, eyes a little teary and smiling. Renjun doesn’t hesitate to crawl over him and kiss him deeply, hands clutching him tightly.

“And you?” he whispers against Jeno’s mouth after they pull apart. “Are you still in?”

“Huh?” Jeno asks dumbly. His eyes are hazy and his lips are puffy from being kissed so thoroughly. “Yeah. Always.”

Renjun looks down at him, a heat crawling inside his belly. He rubs his thumb over Jeno’s lower lip and Jeno opens his mouth, the tip of his tongue barely grazing the digit.

“That’s great, then!” Donghyuck exclaims from the side, breaking the mood. He shifts positions and almost kicks Renjun off Jeno’s lap while trying to get closer to them. “It’s all set. Hi, boyfriends. This is our first day. Let’s celebrate later and, _please_ , let’s just go to sleep now. God, I don’t even want to know what time it is.”

He isn’t flushing, Renjun tells himself. He’s been called that lots of time already and he should be used to that — but there are new implications in the term now and Renjun can’t help the bloom of emotions inside his chest. Oh, _shit. They’re dating._

It’s okay, it’s okay. He’ll get used to it.

Probably.

Jeno pats his chest and Renjun lays down over him, listening to his heartbeat. There’s something about the intimacy of laying close to one another in silence that always captivated him.

The bed dips and Jaemin settles down next to Donghyuck, tugging a blanket over them.

“What, no—Injunnie, come here,” Donghyuck whines, holding his hand towards him. “It’s our first day as _boyfriends_ ,” he says teasingly, “let me hold you. I even _asked_ you, I deserve at least that.”

Renjun huffs in false annoyance and buries his face in Jeno’s chest, trying to hide the smile he knows he can’t suppress.

“Junnie,” he whines again, and Renjun bats Donghyuck’s hand away from his arm. “Let him go, Jen. You can have him tomorrow.”

Jeno’s laughter makes his chest rumble and Renjun sighs with the movements. “Fuck off,” he mutters without heat. Still, he lifts up his head to make sure that Donghyuck wasn’t hurt by it, and when the other is just smiling, Renjun kisses his knuckles quickly before releasing Donghyuck’s hand.

“I can’t deal with you,” Donghyuck replies, rolling his eyes. He sends a glare in Renjun’s direction but smiles right after.

“Come, I’ll hug you,” Jaemin says and embraces Donghyuck, holding him against his body. Renjun rests the side of his face on Jeno’s chest and watches them both.

Donghyuck grumbles and complains for a few seconds before he relents, molding himself back against Jaemin's form. He lifts one of his hands and holds the hem of Renjun’s shirt, giving one pull before letting it go. Renjun stares while Donghyuck blinks up innocently at him, batting his eyelashes coyly.

Renjun pokes him on the cheek. Donghyuck pulls his shirt once again.

“ _Stop_ ,” Jaemin warns. “Or I’ll roll and you’ll have to face the other side.”

Donghyuck is quick to stop and Renjun smiles victoriously, watching him yawn and blink sleepily, Jaemin’s hand on his waist. Donghyuck is just doing the same thing. Observing.

“You didn’t answer,” Jeno whispers, close to his ear, the tip of his fingers running under his shirt and making Renjun shudder.

There’s no doubt about his answer. Maybe, in a way, there never was.

“Yes,” he breathes out. Renjun listens to Jeno’s heartbeat pick up and smiles against his chest, holds him a little tighter; watches the way Donghyuck’s eyes light up even when he’s halfway falling asleep, comfortable and safe in Jaemin’s embrace. Renjun wonders if he’d be able to even fall asleep when he’s feeling this happy and excited with everything that had just happened. “Yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> [ [twt](https://twitter.com/pinkhrj) | [ccat](https://curiouscat.me/rensungie) ]


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